Development means business: that was the message of BCtA Sixth Annual Forum in New York, held in conjunction with the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and the adoption of the new global development agenda. More than 250 leaders from the private sector, development institutions and governments gathered on 24 September to discuss the potential for and evidence of inclusive business's substantial contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both at the global and country levels.

The private sector is a valuable and valued partner in our collective efforts to support sustainable development around the world, said Magdy martinez-soliman, UNDP's Assistant Administrator. He also stressed that partnerships among all stakeholders, including the private sector, would be essential to accomplishing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

His opening remarks set the stage for the day's discussions, which looked at the various ways companies are innovating to engage people at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP), as well as the partnerships, financing, enabling policies and measurement needed to sustain these accomplishments.

A panel of experts from domestic and multinational BCtA member companies opened the discussion by exploring the potential social impact of domestic inclusive businesses. Their wide-ranging dialogue highlighted that with 169 new SDG targets, it will be critical for all stakeholders to: (i) focus corporate resources; (ii) develop clear measures of social value; and (iii) move outside their comfort zones to embrace new partnerships and different areas of the value chain.

In her keynote address, Lise Kingo, Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact, noted the importance of placing the BoP at the forefront of all stakeholder agendas. She hoped that companies would take inspiration from the new goals to develop truly sustainable business strategies.

The plenary session focused on inclusive business as a critical contributor to the SDGs. Nik Sekhran, Director for Sustainable Development with UNDP's Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, moderated a panel of global development and inclusive business experts who examined best practices for embedding inclusive business models into companies value chains; they also exchanged lessons learned on working with low-income communities. Terri Bresenham, CEO and Vice President of new BCtA member Sustainable Healthcare Solutions (a subsidiary of GE Healthcare) noted that sustainability happens when everyone has a stake in the initiative's success and a return on their investment. So it is paramount that inclusive businesses make sure that everyone who participates gets something in return.

Luiz Ros, Manager for the Opportunities for the Majority at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) suggested that when companies enter a new market, they need to: (i) change their lens; (ii) get used to partnerships (including with the public sector and civil society); and (iii) make full use of those partnerships while scaling up.

The Annual Forum also featured two thematic sessions. In Catalyzing Partnerships to Drive Better Health, organized in partnership with Accenture, the focus was on the importance of cross-sector partnerships for ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages. The panel of experts from leading global healthcare companies agreed that the past decade has witnessed a dramatic shift from philanthropy to business-based partnerships. They noted that businesses may be ahead of the curve when it comes to global agendas: instead of giving partners grants or financing, companies are now offering a share of revenue generated from patient care, which in turn supports sustainability and helps partners to grow.

The day's second thematic discussion focused on empowering companies to tie the SDGs into their businesses by revolutionizing data collection. Moderator Marcos Neto, Director of UNDP's Istanbul International Center for the Private Sector in Development, kicked off the discussion by noting that capturing data on performance and social impact not only drives business innovation and creates more efficient value chains, but it is increasingly important for maintaining compliance. Read The Guardian for a more detailed examination of this discussion.

In addition to the various panel discussions, the audience heard from Sahba Sobhani, BCtA's Acting Project Manager, who presented an overview of BCtA's accomplishments in 2015. These included welcoming 37 new inclusive business members the highest number to join the BCtA in a single year. These new members committed to increasing crop yields for more than 5.4 million people, improving healthcare outcomes for 5.9 million people and improve living conditions for 1.2 million families, to name just a few.

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